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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Pierced Fall Foils

Sorry about the missed post last week. I sorta got sidetracked by way too many evenings out and about. Thankfully, this week should be much more normal.

I've been dying to try this rich brown color - Misa "When U Say My Name" ever since I bought it, and now that fall is around the corner, I couldn't hold back any longer. I decided that gold and copper foil would accent it nicely, then on a whim, decided to pierce my pinky nail just for a little extra glint of gold. The foils I'm using are from Nail Art Delights, and I find it's easier to pull them into little pieces before starting the manicure. I just use a couple of orange sticks...the foil is extremely thin and will go flying with one deep breath (which is what makes it fabulous for nails...).

After I cut and filed my nails, I got my nail drill (also purchased from Nail Art Delights), laid my pinky finger on a flat, hard surface, and started turning the drill back and forth right where I wanted the hole until it went all the way through.

Groovy! I find it's easier to do this without polish, but if you have thinner nails, it might work better with base coat, at least. If you do drill before polishing, remember to keep something handy to poke polish out of the hole with...

Next up, Seche Vite base coat, and two coats of Misa's "When U Call My Name". I love this color...just enough gold in it to shine nicely, but still a very dark, rich color. Yummy!

Then to set the foil, I brushed on a thin layer of top coat, and just sort of piled it on randomly. The foil sticks to the top coat very easily, so it's a pretty quick job. I use an orange stick to wrinkle/de-wrinkle where it seems to work.

You'll notice I still don't have the ring in yet - I put two coats of Seche Vite top coat over these, let them dry, and then when I did clean up in the morning I put the ring through the hole. You'll need at least needle nose pliers for the task, and possibly a small pair of regular pliers too (for closing the jump ring).

And there you have it! I got tons of compliments on these - they were much more shiny than these photos give them credit for.

Because I know someone will wonder - yes, I can type with a ring in my pinky. The trick is to put the hole far enough back that the ring moves freely, but doesn't dangle too far off the nail. It does help if you're already used to longer nails though.

I can't decide whether to go with a matte for next week, a crackle, or a duochrome. I guess it will be a surprise! Until then, happy polishing...